So today was full of activities with a few twists ...
This interesting day started out when we woke up at the coast in Newport, Oregon. I went for a jog, which is something I've done every morning for the last 43 years, more or less. I am generally pretty faithful about keeping fit, and running is how I do it.
I'm not as fast as I used to be. In fact, I was never really fast, but pretty steady. These days I am a bit hobbled with a badly mangled toe, something I managed to do on a recent trip to Central America.
Actually, when we first awoke and looked out the window with our coffee in hand, there was a Marathon going on; probably a couple thousand runners.
Newport was where I ran my first Marathon in 1999. I finished ... in well, not too bad a time ... under four hours. I went on to run another seven marathons, in three different states and three foreign countries. My times did not improve much as the years rolled on, but I was always able to finish under four hours.
Not long after that, Fiona and I went for a walk to have breakfast. We love to walk. It was a beautiful morning - sunny, clear, and warm. It reached 80 degrees at the coast - no way! - yes way!
After breakfast, we went back to our apartment to ... clean the windows. Woo-hoo! Everyone's idea of fun! It was a little hairy hanging out over the second story (heights are not my thing) but it was a successful effort.
Then we went to the Yaquina Head lighthouse, which is always a spectacular setting. For some reason, I have acquired a liking for watching waves crashing on rocks. Not sure why, but I can watch waves crashing on rocks for hours, when I get the rare chance. It helps me keep things in perspective.
Mid-afternoon, we headed back to Corvallis for a party. There were lots of family members there and grandkids, and general mayhem ensued. When we get together as a family, there is a lot of energy and mischief. The weather today was really hot here in the Willamette Valley, so naturally we had a water fight. I lost (and got soaked in the process), which was not entirely unpleasant.
Things take a turn for the worse ...
In the middle of the party, I got a cell phone call from my neighbor at home. Our power went out - on a day when the temperature in our car said 102 degrees - great timing! I guess the whole area in South Salem and Jefferson lost power. And "oh, by the way," my neighbor said, "I think someone stole your mail". Jolly good news in the middle of a party.
Did I mention that this party was for me? Today is my birthday, and I'm older than most people reading this let's just say I continue to reach new levels of maturity, Ha!
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This has been a good week, with my son Lewis and his wife Ruby blessed with the birth of their first child, a son. So we packed up the party and were going to head over to Lewis' house (not far away) for some cousin pictures. Only, as we set out in two different rigs, we had left the pizza on top of the car.
My daughter Alison was honking the horn but the occupants of the other car couldn't understand why she was shouting, until a passing motorist yelled "HEY! You've got a pizza on top of your car!" The pizza was rescued, whew!
We got to Lewis and Ruby's and apologized in advance for the disruption that was coming, and sure enough, it got a little rowdy, and ended with the boys jumping off the front porch, but we got a picture of the five cousin grandkids, with little Sullivan only four days old.
We wanted to leave before somebody got hurt, so we bundled back up in the two cars and set off. When we got back to Beka's, Fiona flew into a minor (major?) panic when she realized she had left her cell phone on top of the car (really? seriously? twice in one afternoon? driving around with items on top of a car?) only this time, the phone was gone!
So we called Lewis who went walking down the street as Fiona raced back over, and remarkably, Lewis found the iPhone in the road about a quarter mile away. It worked, but it was badly smashed.
We finished up the party, with everyone (meaning the kids) too hot and too full of sugar and birthday cake, and getting too edgy and falling apart and ... oookaaay, .... it's time to leave!
We made it home just in time for a beautiful sunset. We even went for a walk around our hill. Hey fitness buffs, I reached 19,000 steps for the day, dude!
I love days that are packed with activity, with little unexpected twists. Oh, and our power came back on just before we got home. And turns out our mail did not get stolen. Life is full of blessings.
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